Wednesday, October 3, 2012

3 October 2012 -- Journal Log

Scooter's Journal Log
Earth Date Wednesday, 3 October 2012

met up with a huge group of people for the day's activities at 10 am • the group included: Carmenza, Izzy, Sarah and her twins: Xavi and Zoe, Lena, Phil, Irshad, and Peter • we took the subway to the Forbidden City

we waited in line about 30 minutes to get tickets • once inside we explored and explored • I was sorry we didn't get a guided tour because you simply cannot get the degree of info from your own recollections accumulated during two trips over ten years ago as you can from a newly graduated and state-approved official guide • Xavi and Zoe were a hit with the crowd who stopped us constantly wanting to take and / or be in photos with them • after much good behavior of being in their stroller for over an hour, Sarah decided they could be released into a courtyard with so much adult supervision from our group

the twins immediately discovered the giant water storage urns near the walls of each gate and seemed convinced they were giant gold balls intended as play things for kids • after taking tons of photos and exploring what was left of the Forbidden City open to tourists with what seemed like were a billion Chinese people, we walked to Sizzler in Wanfujing under the direction of Phil and had a wonderful meal with full salad bar

then the group dismantled with most people choosing to go home instead of to the Olympic Park • Lena, Irshad, Peter, and I stayed true to the course and after an hour on five lines of the subway, we arrived • once topside, we immediately were captivated by the splendor of the Bird's Nest and the Cube

we took a lot of photos and then Peter had to leave to go to San Li Tun to meet friends for dinner • the rest of us stayed and watched the sun set • had dinner at McDonald's

then I took pictures of the buildings at night which was a completely different sight to behold • we then bargained with the vendors to see who could get the cheapest light glider toy – basically an LED glued to a parachute type structure that you launch high into the sky with a rubber band and then watch as it floats back to earth to repeat again • Irshad won the day receiving 5 for 10 CN 元 after I had paid 20 CN 元 for one! • we then took fewer subway stops back home